paully

Seems strange. The wife's just got a 6 month multiple Schengen visa, admittedly from the French Embassy in London, on our Thai marriage certificate translated into English and certified by the British Embassy in Bangkok without a problem. Our marriage isn't registered in England, it doesn't have to be. What is it with these Spanish?

Hi,

Need some advice....I wanted my Thai girlfriend (who i have been with for 3 years now) to come stay with me sometime after xmas in London. I want her to stay for 3 weeks. Im willing to pay for air fares, take care of all her financial needs, i have no problem with this. Unfortunately i dont have my own place at the moment, but i intend to rent an apartment in London for the whole 3 weeks. Just wanted to know what kind of visa she should apply for and where she would apply for it? (im guessing the British Embassy in Bangkok). And also what documentation she will need?

Surely it cant be that hard to qualify for a visa for a Thai national to be able to stay in Uk for 3 weeks??!!! not with the Uk's open door policy on immigration? Or are the immigration board just racist towards Thais? Sorry, rant over!

Thanks in advance for any advice you may be able to offer.........

As already stated, she'll need to show a tenancy agreement or documentation covering where she will stay in the UK, even for a visitor's visa, as well as evidence of money. It should be said that it isn't just the UK who require documentary evidence of such things: if she were to apply for a short-term Schengen visa (which covers short visits to most other European Union countries) she'd have to show similar stuff.

Today my girl went to the IOM for her TB examination and got a scare.

On the X Ray a small black spot was shown. She now has to go to another clinic for the next three days for further checks.

I have spoken to my Doctor friend and he says not to worry yet. It may be due to her smoking.

There were three other TG's there today with the same result.

Any of you guys experienced this situation before.

The strange thing is that she has just returned to Thailand after a six month stay in England without any TB examination.

This is actually a lot more common than you'd think and happened to my wife, who is now safely in the UK. If the IOM x-ray shows an 'anomaly', they have a duty to refer the applicant to a clinic in Bangkok where she goes for 3 days to have her sputum tested. If all 3 of the sputum tests are clear, then the IOM will issue a certificate, if 1 is not clear then she will need to re-apply a few months later. Nothing to do with skin tests. Tell her not to worry, it is a chore but a fair few applicants go through it. Every day my wife was at the clinic there were several others too for the same purpose.

One piece of advice: if she successfully gets the IOM certificate and the visa, she will need to carry the original x-ray on the plane with her to show immigration. Yes, the envelopes are cumbersome and awkward to carry on board, but she will save herself a considerable delay in the UK on arrival - my wife had to wait in a long line for 2 hours whilst a new x-ray was done at Heathrow and inspected before she was let through. Not what you need after a 12 hour flight.

Ex-premier Thaksin can return -- after martial law is lifted

BANGKOK: -- Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra can 'come home', but it would be better for him to wait until martial law is lifted.

He is far richer than the generals in power today.

And has far better connections.

He'll be back sooner than you think...

!00% correct. And he won't go to jail either.

Is an application to any of the Schnegen countries automatically a Schengen visa - or can there be a visa restricted to a specific country, eg France?

My Thai girl friend would like to come with me for a holiday to France on a tourist visa for a month or so. She has no job here; she does have a couple of very young children who would remain here (a reason to return, etc). I could furnish the necessary proof of funds and undertaking to cover her needs. I'm british; but own a flat in Paris.

Where on a scale of 100 would be her prospects of getting a tourist (30-90 day) visa? But perhaps this question is unaswerable on those few facts. But if someone has recently obtained such a tourist visa for France I'd be interested to hear of it.

There's a couple of potential problems with getting a Schengen short-stay visa to France on a UK VV - if that's what your girlfriend has. First, her UK visitor's visa has to be valid for at least another 3 months from the trip to France (you didn't say how long she'd already been in the UK). Second, she has to come back into the UK again and may be subject to questions about why she is doing so, ie: is she visiting the UK or attempting to live there and extend her stay by a further 6 months. Third, appointments at the French Embassy in London for interview/issue of a visa are difficult to get: you can only book up to 2 months in advance and they seem to be pretty chockka with appointments most of the time.

Yes, even in Thailand, applicants for passports have to turn up in person and be digitally photographed etc which is then scanned onto the passport. The officials do all the work of inputting the information into the computer, no application form as such. It's easier if she has a new-version ID card, same information is used for the passport. All in all, not bad for 1,000 baht. Compare it with the UK - soon passport fees going up to £65 a pop. Ouch.

I'll try to paraphrase some comments I've heard/read from farang teachers:

"If we get rid of the backpackers, salaries will rise." Why, if the market now pays teachers their market 'worth'?

"I earn 1000 baht/hour for this special course I teach, so that must be my benchmark 'worth'." In any market there are localized distortions that do not reflect normal market conditions. Therefore, a well-paid couple of hours at the weekend does not reflect a teacher's general 'worth'.

"Thais have all those saving plan things and pensions" If you're from the UK, you'll receive a pension when you reach retirement age regardless of the fact you haven't contributed to it by paying national insurance, or been resident in the UK for the last 40 years. Also, if you fall ill, you're only a 9 hour journey from the NHS - some of the best medical services in the world and it's FREE. I don't think Thais working for a few years in the UK would be entitled to a state pension despite paying UK taxes.

I wouldn't count too much on receiving a nice state pension from the UK in future years, it's not the benefit it used to be. Firstly, there are far too many retirees coming up to retirement in the next 15-20 years for the government to be able to pay them all - let alone keep the level with the rise in the retail price index - without major tax increases (they've got to pay all those nice politicians' and civil servants' and teachers' pensions too). Secondly, if you're in Thailand, because of the lack of a reciprocal treaty, you will miss out on annual pension increases meaning that the value of your pension falls. Thirdly, if you don't keep up your National Insurance payments, you'll only be entitled to the lowest state pension. All in all, the British State Pension in a few years'll probably be about as valuable, in real terms, as the basic Thai pension which they've recently commenced via the Social Security system, which entitles Thai workers to a basic health cover at certain named hospitals.

Again the NHS isn't the automatic, cradle-to-grave, total, universal "free" cover that it used to be. If you spend several years living abroad, you're increasingly likely to find that you won't automatically qualify for free treatment for more expensive conditions - hospitals will quiz you about your address/addresses if it appears you are resident abroad, and you'll also, most likely have a waiting list for operations rather than just fall off the plane and be instantly taken care of. Also, don't get old in the UK without savings. Even with savings, the local authority can force you to pay up or sell your property to pay for old-age care. At 2,000 pounds or more a month, your savings will be soon eaten up by the care home.

By contrast, Thai workers have several advantages over farang in Thailand. They can qualify easily - frankly, much too easily - for loans (including mortgages) and credit cards, which Thai banks would never give to a foreigner without stringent conditions being attached. They get more protection under labour laws in respect to severance payments, for example, which cut in after you have worked for over 1 year continuously with the same employer (most farang teachers have to agree to one-year temporary contracts even with the same employer). They have the right to stay in the country without fulfilling increasingly complex and uncertain visa/work permit requirements. They are physically, as well as emotionally, close to their families which provide them with a whole support network, whilst the farang has to fend for himself.

Wales is a Principality.

Wales is principally a place to go when you want your car broken into.

Or your house burned, look you

From the comments on this board, the educational level of the teachers working here seems very suspect.

Hey, thanks a lot

^ It does sound a bit odd. But then, This is Thailand .......

Kenkannif, our resident expert, will be along shortly, no doubt to assist but I believe that only a tourist visa - that is the formal visa that you pay for and obtain at a Thai consulate abroad and not in Thailand - can be converted into a non-immigrant B visa at immigration in BKK. You've only got the 30 day entry stamp on arrival.

Allan, it would also help if you look light-skinned, unpleasant though that is to say. I've also come across several Chinese-somethingers teaching in Thailand who seem to do okay. It's certainly a great start if you're debt-free.

Of course, PB, would you actually believe them if they did swear as such, on a pile of amulets or otherwise?

You've stood by your brother royally and tried your best to protect him from his own folly, Mark. Why would anyone want to condemn you?

Gosh. Within 28 days, 10% perhaps? Within 58 days, maybe 35%? Who knows. Maybe I'm doing schools a disservice.

It's very dispiriting to read your list of jobs and pay, PB. The wish list for qualifications/certification goes up and up, yet the remuneration remains minimal. As Ken and Loaded say, most of the 'decent' jobs aren't actually advertised but it's depressing all the same.

After all the recent commotion in the Thai TEFL industry and whatever future hoops will be dreamt up to jump through, I was wondering what countries are good places to go and teach.

I'm thinking about a place that is not too expensive to live, you can get a good paying teaching position, there are actually chances of career advancement, perhaps you can achieve residency/citizenship - or at the very least you don't have to get by on a year long visa.

I'm considering going back to the UK and getting teaching qualifications. I am considering a B of Ed in primary school teaching - where would be good countries to head to with a qualification like that?

If anyone has any ideas I would be glad to hear them.

Your wish list doesn't sound too rigorous on the face of it, Dan Sai, but it may be difficult to achieve all of these in practice. Have a look at the TES (Times Educational Supplement) forum on 'teaching overseas' at www.tes.co.uk for some suggestions, although there often appears to be little agreement amongst the forum posters.

By the way, do you need to do a BEd in the UK? If you have a degree already, you can become a qualified teacher quicker by other ways, eg a PGCE.

The British Embassy will certify a copy of your degree. Take your original degree with you along with a photocopy and about 1100 Baht. They will take the original and copy from you and stamp on the copy that "This is a true copy of X's degree certificate'. Quite meaningless really but it keeps schools happy! Drop the papers off one day and pick them up the next.

How utterly ridiculous! The school itself can get a true copy of your degree certificate by, er, taking the original from you, placing it on the photocopier and pressing 'print'. The British Embassy would not be in any sense verifying that it is a genuine degree certificate issued by the institution named. Only the university/college could do that. What a waste of 1,300 baht.

If the contract is with you and not your girlfriend then the agents have breached the contract by making this extra demand. If you were still in Thailand I'd advise you and your g/f to go and demand the passport back from them in person and gratis. How firm is your g/f? Would she feel ok about doing this without you there too?

Pure blackmail. If this 'release fee' was not contained in the documentation or explained to you/your girlfriend, then it's not part of the contract.

However, actually getting her passport back and into her hands is another matter. If you instruct Thai lawyers, lo and behold they'll charge you something similar to obtain the passport. I don't feel that the Thai police would want to become involved. Bit of a bind, I'm afraid.

Hey, Loaded, a friend of mine told me that .....

Sorry, couldn't resist it. Looking for a smilie that represents mooning your computer

^ He's just a cuddly old realist, aren't you, Ken, mate

.

Odd, you feel speaking Thai in an English class should be encouraged??

My reasons why in general this isn't a good idea and shouldn't be encouraged (there are valid exceptions):

1. If students know they can communicate in Thai to their teacher, they will. Avoiding communicating in English.

2. Often there is no easy direct translation between Thai and English. For example, English uses verb tense to convey meaning with respect to time context, but Thai (in general) uses adverbs of time. Vocabulary often doesn't directly translate: how often have you been asked what 'krienjai' means in English.

3. The teacher is a model.

4. Parents expect English to be used - they're paying!

5. EPs are promoted as, well English Programmes, and the expecation of students and parents is that education will happen only in English.

6. Consistency in every English classroom.

I do agree that when you're teaching anubahn and you need the little darlings to sit down, shut up and open their books before studying, Thai may be a better medium to give the instruction.

Agreed, although I believe it was Neeranam who felt that an ability to speak Thai was an advantage. The kids are not there to speak Thai in your class, they need all the practice in speaking English that they can possibly get if they are to progress. If you speak Thai to them, they will, naturally, reply in Thai. Of course understanding Thai is a different matter and may well be an advantage. But the teacher should always use English in class except with the very tiny ones.

Really sorry to hear that, Binnsy. Hope you can make representations to the Entry Clearance Manager once you know the grounds for refusal.

Might change their minds when they have a classroom full of kids....and no one to teach them.

Yes, after the usual short-term panic, expect the new 'strict' rules there to be relaxed in a few weeks. You know how it works, Ken.

Thanks for the Karr update, Niteowl.